casting and sizing

[duckndawg]

Hey all I have yet to cast or size a bullet yet but in the process. For those of you WAY smarter than me I need your help. I've concluded I'm gonna get a Magma Star sizer I understand they recommend nose first sizing so no need for a top punch correct? Also I should be getting my mold this week and I want to play with it, is there a time table in sizing? Meaning I probably wont get the sizer until after the first of the year. Can I mold say 1,000 bullets now and still be able to size them 6 months from now without any issues? I don't need super hard cast bullets as I'm gonna be casting for SASS shootin.

[WildmanJack]

Duckndawg,
When u get your star sizer, you will need to order a sizing die for the caliber your using. It should come with a top punch. And I can't see why you couldn't cast a couple of thousand boolets and then size them in a few months. From what I read here the boolets get harder ( to some degree) with age. But I may stand corrected there. I have cast boolets and not lubed them for a few months with no problems, especially with SASS shootin.. Good luck..
Jack

[Shotgun Luckey]

I usually don't size right away...I have a Star and sizing is such a fast operation that is just isn't worth it to me to warm up the lube and sizer just to size a few rounds. Besides, it's a lot easier to size indoors when its cold outside than try to get the garage warmed up enough to cast when it's really cold outside.


just my $.02

[mooman76]

You can size any time you want. Are you sure you want a Star sizer? The reason I ask is because you haven't even cast a bullet yet and you are getting ready to lay out a heap of money on a sizer. If that's is what you want and you know it them more power to you. And yes you do not need a top punch if you size nose first like you plan. Make sure you get the right size sizer, they are more expensive in the star. I'm saying this because some that are new to cast bullets (Myself included when I was new) think that if you shoot a 357 than you need a 357 sizer. Not usually so with cast. You will usually need .001-.002 or larger depending on your actual bore size.

[duckndawg]

Yes I want the star. I'm not going to do like I have in the past and get something to get me by and then get what I want later I'm just gonna bite the bullet and do it from the start. I've been buying bullets from a caster and he died this summer so I'm jumpin in to give it a try. The bullets I've been shootin are .358 so that is what sizer I'm gonna get. I know just enough to get me in trouble that is why I asked so I can get into more trouble!!!!!

[No_1]

Star sizers are great! I just got one myself and wonder why I did not in the beginning. Before you purchase your dies from Magma or on *-bay, give Lathesmith (member here) a shout as he makes the dies at a price that is somewhat less cost than magma.

Robert

[Buckshot]

Hey all I have yet to cast or size a bullet yet but in the process. For those of you WAY smarter than me I need your help.

...............I wish I could help. I have a pet chimp who does all my sizing for me and he's not here right now, as he's out on a date at a halloween party. As soon as I hear the car pull in I'll ask him. It might be late because when he left he bummed a twenty from me, so big plans I guess :-)

.................Buckshot

[9.3X62AL]

Please tell me that Donna won't let the chimp drive the Sport-Trac. He DID take the Taurus, right?

[MtGun44]

I would suggest that a new reloader start out with a single stage press
and learn the basics before sinking a lot of money into a progressive that
will require some solid understanding to set up and maintain properly. Starting
with a progressive will be pretty frustrating for most beginners, plus very
expensive.

I would suggest the same thing to a new caster, about getting a Star
as your first lubrisizer. Nothing at all wrong with the idea, but the dies are
much more expensive and the setup to get the lube where you want it is a
good bit less intuitive. Several of the guys on the board are making dies
much more competitive, but you have to know a bit about setting up the
lube hole heights to match your particular bullet lube groove configuration
when you order the die.

Not to say you can't do it, but it will be more likely to frustrate the beginner
and most beginners are not casting the quantities that make the Star
such useful machines. (I have two Stars and two conventional lubrisizers)

IMHO if you are not going to run at least 300 bullets thru the Star, it is not
worth the time to set it up the first time. For less than that I can set up and
use the Lyman 450 or RCBS and run that smaller batch through quicker. Once
a particular die/boolit combo is set up in a Star and the adjustments measured
and noted, it can be reset much more quickly.

For lots & lots of the same bullet, the Star will beat the std style all to death
on speed, no doubt. I love my Stars, but I do not use them for small batches.

Bill

[44man]

90% of the boolits I use, I don't want sized. I use the Lee dies, many lapped to NOT size, to remove excess lube. Yes it takes me time and it is messy but one boolit in the target is better then 100,000 misses.
I am happier with 100 perfect boolits then I would be with a crate full that will not do what I want.
Every tool has a place and a use but don't get carried away with speed unless you shoot very close range and fast like cowboy or steel shooting.
If I take 15 minutes to make one round and it hits a pop can at 200 yd's, I don't need a second or 100 more shots. :Fire:
You DON'T have to spend a lot of money for accuracy.
Fancy progressive loaders and sizers will not make you a better shot.
Relax and enjoy casting and loading for what it is, it is not a speed race. :drinks:

[Boerrancher]

I don't own a Star, and probably never will so I can't comment on them. I do own a Lyman 450, and wouldn't think of getting rid of it. I also own several Lee push through sizers for tumble lubing. I use both of them equally, because some of my rifles just don't like the lube for the lube sizers as well as some of the tumble lubes.

As far as Speed goes, If you are planning on casting and sizing later, that is what bad weather days are for. I spend several days casting, and several days sizing. I just wait and do it on the days that I can't get out and do anything else. If you want a Star sizer that is fine, but I would not rule out some of the other sizing methods as a good way to start learning.

Best wishes from the Boer Ranch,

Joe

[leadeye]

Never used a Star but hear good things about them. I have a RCBS Lube-A-Matic that I have used for a long time. With the RCBS policy on replacement parts it is hard to think of using something else but I have some Lee push throughs. I just store all my cast boolits in jars and size them as I need them.

[Wayne Smith]

Duckndawg

Couple of things not yet mentioned - ease of sizing after time depends on the alloy used. The more arsenic and antimony in the mix the harder they will get after time if water dropped and this makes more effort sizing.

For what you are doing anything from pure lead to acww will be adequate and won't harden appreciably. Thus if you cast soft, as you should for Cowboy shooting, you won't have a problem.

Try shooting as cast, as suggested by 44man. You will neither be shooting long range nor pushing speed. You may find all the accuracy you need without sizing.

[cajun shooter]

DND, As you can see by the replys there are different lines of thought on this subject and let me say that there is no wrong answer. I shoot SASS and have fun dressing and shooting with the guys. This past Saturday my Taurus Thunderbolt jammed on the first stage so that I had to go to a back up. I laughed it off and finished last; which didn't bother me. Why I'm I telling you this. Because some people shoot and if they don't finish first the world is ending. The same applies to bullet casting. You can pan lube, tumble lube, Lyman lube, RCBS lube or Star lube. It all depends on your cash at hand and if you want to be fast or just have fun with the guys. I'm 61 and have used all the above. They all work. Have fun and this site has some very smart and talented people that will help you. Take Care

[Wayne Smith]

Thanks, Cajun, I should have stated the "as cast" means pan lube or tumble lube. At the speeds you are shooting tumble lubing with Lee Lizard Snot or JPW will do you fine.

[duckndawg]

Thanks for the input!! I have an older lyman 450 I bought 4 or 5 years ago DIRT cheap just have never used it. Mainly I was just wonderin if I could cast 1 or 2,000 bullets now and size them maybe 6 months from now if they would be harder to size at a later date. MTGUN44 I agree with you 100% about learning on single stages for reloading. I own several progressive presses now but thats after several years of useing single stages.

[Chunky Monkey]

Do you folks have any links to where Stars can be bought?

[duckndawg]

magmaengineering.com

[donald duck]

I have cast a few hundred 7mm 120 grain from an old Lyman Ideal mould. I cast a few hundred at a time. 800 is the most art any one time and then put on the gas checks by hand. I lube by dipping each bullet with gas check into a sardine pan with lube. Use candle wax and RCBS and Red Rooster mixed together. Then through a Lee Sizer die .285. I load these bullets in 7 X 57, 7 mm TCU, 7-30 Waters and in time my 7mm WSM. I cast wheel weights in a lee electric pot with lineotype added. A friend has tested them and says thaey could be loaded hotter as I only load mild accurate loads. Try not to get wax on the nose of bullet. Makes for easier loading. donald duck